Federal Judge Rules Meta's Instagram and WhatsApp Purchases Did Not Stifle Competition (reuters.com)

(Tuesday November 18, 2025 @05:20PM (msmash) from the breaking-news dept.)

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Meta [1]did not illegally stifle competition when it acquired Instagram and WhatsApp. The decision marks Big Tech's first major victory against antitrust enforcement that began during President Donald Trump's first term. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission had sought to force Meta to sell or restructure the platforms to restore competition among social media networks. Meta argued it faced competitive pressure from TikTok, YouTube, and Apple's messaging app.

[1] https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/meta-defeats-us-antitrust-case-over-instagram-whatsapp-2025-11-18/

Nice to have enough money... (Score:2)

by Sebby ( 238625 )

... that you can buy a judge that determines the course of your company.

Re: (Score:2)

by dgatwood ( 11270 )

> ... that you can buy a judge that determines the course of your company.

Yeah, I'm having trouble wondering what's wrong with the universe if a judge thinks that Facebook hasn't basically obliterated all competition in social media.

YouTube is not really social media. YouTube shorts tries to be Tik Tok, and Facebook Reels tries to be Tik Tok, but they're fundamentally different things, because short-form video targets an entirely different category of people than social media and largely serves a different purpose — to entertain, not to inform.

Google/Alphabet's social medi

Re: (Score:3)

by dgatwood ( 11270 )

> Facebook is just more popular. That's not illegal.

It's actually more than that. For a typical website, you would be right. The problem with social media is that it is inherently social. If your friends aren't on the same site, you can't share things with them. People don't join a site that doesn't already have a lot of users, and therefore, there's an almost insurmountable barrier to entry when you end up with one or two entrenched players, in spite of it theoretically being possible to create another site.

And because Facebook is not federated, hides e

The cancer is spreading... (Score:2)

by Sebby ( 238625 )

The Meta[stasize] has infected the courts.

Re: (Score:1)

by Shadow of Eternity ( 795165 )

Except the overwhelming majority of massive corporate consolidation happened under Obama with Obama era appointments.

Let them fight. (Score:2)

by thrasher thetic ( 4566717 )

Both of those companies deserve a fate worse than death. . . being owned by The Zuck.

Quite right (Score:2)

by YuppieScum ( 1096 )

They legally stifled competition.

I wonder how much it cost in "campaign contributions"...

Tips (Score:2)

by jmccue ( 834797 )

I hope meta gave the judge a nice big fat tip. Tipping Judges were made legal by the US Supreme Court a year ago I think. Plus now, tips are tax free. Nice to be a Federal Judge in the US.

Seems about right (Score:2)

by SirSlud ( 67381 )

I don't think the US actually enforces anything approaching the spirit of robust anti-trust law now. The goalposts have been moved back so many times, they're on another field now.

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